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These are the griffons on Bank Bridge. The bridge was designed by
engineer G. Treter and built in 1825-1826. The griffons are the
work of sculptor P. Sokolov.
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There are more than 380 bridges in St. Petersburg. This one is
called the Singer's Bridge. St. Isaac's Cathedral is in the background.
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Equestrian Statue of Peter the Great:
Erected 1782. This was sculpted by Etienne Maurice Falconet,
who lived in Russia ten years to finish the work.
But he did not sculpt the face; this was left to
Falconet's pupil, Marie-Anne Collot.
During World War II, Leningrad and its citizens suffered through
a 900 day siege by the Germans, who mistakenly judged that
the Russians would give up to escape the oppressive yoke
of Communism. The black and white photo above depicts
the Equestrian Statue protected by sandbags to
save it from the bombing.
(The WWII pictures (above and below) came from THE 900 DAYS by Harrison E.
Salisbury, Harper & Row, 1969)
Petrodvoretz (the Palace of Peter):
Peter the Great wanted to imitate Versaille. Specialists were
imported from Paris to build the fantastic fountains -- all 142
of them which sprout 2000 jets of water.
German troops occupied Petrodvoretz from 1941 to 1944. They actually
fired artillery on Leningrad from here. The palace was ransacked and
razed by the Germans before they left. Millions of rubles were spent
on restoration but the work will never be finished, as many treasures
were stolen and have never been recovered.
Seeing The Great Cascade, however, one would
think all's complete. Water flows down past many
fountains, hundreds of statues made of gold and marble, vases and
bas-reliefs -- all beautifully reflected in the pools.
